Just the 10 of Us

MINOT, ND – An aggregate 10 points—three goals and seven assists—on the night for the line of Matej Murin, Jared Resseguie and Michael Mahan made the difference Thursday as the Bismarck Bobcats brushed off a shaky second period to pull away from the Minot Minotauros 4-1 at Maysa Arena.

Fresh off a four-point weekend against Kenai River, Murin got the scoring started for the Bobcats 7:01 into the game on a transition redirect of a Mahan pass that snuck inside the left post for a quick 1-0 Bobcat edge.

That lead would double to 2-0 just 4:59 later on the power play as Tanner Vescio found Cooper Haar wide open on a back-door pass that Haar snapped home for his second goal of the season.

Bobcat goalie Ryan Ullan kept it a two-goal game early in the second, making an impressive left-to-right kick save on Ondrej Pavel on a cross-ice feed moments into the frame.

Minot would eventually slice into the Cats’ cushion when Miroslav Mucha capitalized on a Noah Ganske rebound off the left post—swatting the bouncing puck in for his team-best fifth goal and a 2-1 count.

Ullan held strong in the second, making 10 saves in the stanza to keep the visitors ahead by one heading into the final frame.

Just 2:41 into the third, Resseguie restored the Cats’ two-goal advantage at 3-1, batting in a Mahan rebound after Minotauro netminder Jack Robbel made the initial stop following a turnover Murin created in the right-wing corner.

A strong defensive period by the Bobcats limited Minot to just six shots in the final six minutes, with Resseguie capping off the night with an empty-netter from Murin and Mahan for the final 4-1 margin.

Ullan secured his third straight win in net by stopping 24 of 25 shots sent his way; Robbel made 11 saves but slipped to 1-2-0 on the year.

With Thursday’s win, the Cats claim an early 2-0 lead in the 2017-18 Subway ND Cup standings over their arch rivals with 11 games remaining in the season series.

Now the Bobcats turn their attention to a two-game road series against first-place Brookings starting with a 7:05pm clash Friday at Larson Ice Center.

Friday’s meeting of two of the Central Division’s top teams will be broadcast live locally on Super Talk 1270 AM, the radio home of the Bismarck Bobcats, and worldwide at HockeyTV.com, the official web broadcast partner of the North American Hockey League. Pre-game coverage will begin at 6:40pm.

Pro-rated season tickets are still on sale for the Bobcats’ 2017-18 campaign: lock in the best seats now and be here for all the action! Visit BismarckBobcats.com or call 222-3300 for more info.